“I deeply regret the Austrian government’s decision to block the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area,” Van der Bellen, former leader of the Green Party, wrote on Twitter on Friday.
Although Austria is in a difficult position due to the many arriving refugees and migrants, the veto would not change anything, Van der Bellen said during a visit to Ljubljana in Slovenia. “All I can see is that we have aroused a lot of resentment at the European level,” he said.
The day before, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner of the conservative ÖVP had prevented the extension of the Schengen area without border controls to these two countries at a meeting of the responsible ministers of EU countries. He argued that there is no point in extending the zone as long as the EU’s external borders are not sufficiently protected and so many people come to Europe via the Balkan route.
Justice Minister Alma Zadić reiterated that her Green government group rejects the veto. “Bulgaria and Romania are part of the European family and freedom of movement is very important within the European family,” she said.
On the other hand, the ministerial meeting in Brussels on Thursday paved the way for Croatia’s accession to the Schengen area.
(SDA)